Best Use of a Toxic Dump: Sandlot

As everyone knows, Baltimore was once a thriving port bustling with industry along the water’s edge. Now it’s condominium towers and taxpayer-financed corporate headquarters sprouting up on the Inner Harbor shores. Even after this became commonplace, there was a large patch of gray that sat between Harbor East and Fells Point. Thanks to Spike Gjerde and Corey Polyoka, that gray patch finally got new life after they plopped a bunch of sand down and turned the land into a bougie “beachfront” restaurant and bar, with umbrellas, palm trees, and even a golf driving range where people can hit balls into the water. It just so happens that, in its previous life, this 4.5-acre parcel of land was a highly toxic chromium plant. But that was all sealed off and it’s now totally, 100 percent safe. For sure. Just go with it.